


Instincts

by Tiofrean



Series: The Lost Winter [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: BAMF Daryl Dixon, Between S02 and S03, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Daryl Is Taking None Of Her Shit, Daryl Is a Saint, Daryl Saves Rick From a Wolf, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Grinding, Hand Jobs, How Do You Get a Divorce In The Apocalypse?, M/M, Pregnant Walker, Protective Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes Needs a Hug, Rick Is a Bit Wobbly After That, Rick is falling apart, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Sex, Smut, lori being lori, sleeping disorders, the lost winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 14:43:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16578491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiofrean/pseuds/Tiofrean
Summary: It hadn’t been the first time he had seen a family of walkers, and it certainly wasn’t surprising that they had encountered a pregnant walker… But the picture of them that had been sitting at the back of Rick’s mind was filling him with so much dread, he couldn’t even look at Lori, not now. Every time his eyes went to her - whether he was trying to reassure himself that she was alive and kicking, or maybe out of some kind of morbid curiosity - he felt sick to his stomach when he went back to that moving dead abdomen.Or, Rick is falling apart, they are all in deep snow, and they need whatever comfort they can find. A continuation of Daryl and Rick's struggle to stay sane in the apocalypse, set in The Lost Winter period (between s02 & s03).It's not necessary to read the previous parts, but it is recommended.





	Instincts

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not exactly sure what this is, other than a glimpse into Rick and Daryl's struggle during the winter. They are trying to stay sane and alive, two tasks that prove to be too much sometimes. I hope their cuddles will bring you some comfort, too! Enjoy (and I'm off to write another 50k fic :D)

It was supposed to be a quick supply check in one of the houses they encountered. It wasn’t even habitable, and Daryl had guessed that much only by looking at the outside of it - old, rotten, wooden walls and a partially caved in roof. They told the others to wait and went to check it out with Rick, hoping to find something warm to wear, maybe score on food… All they had eaten for breakfast was a watered down squirrel soup, and Daryl doubted that was an appropriate meal for the whole day. 

Three steps in, it became painfully obvious why the roof was fucked up - one of the beams supporting it was broken. It had given out under the weight of three people hanging on it and collapsed partially, but not enough to stop them from killing themselves. Here they still were - blank, clouded eyes and reaching hands full of bloodied, dirty nails. Their feet barely even touched the ground.    
“Oh god,” Rick gasped, lowering his Colt and staring at the horrible picture in front of them.    
“‘Nother ones opted out,” Daryl commented unnecessarily, glancing at Rick, whose gaze was still directed at the hanging three. 

One of them was a tall guy, rather on the lanky side, a huge walker bite evident even through his flannel shirt. Next to him, there was a small body, facing away from them, and Daryl cringed when he realized the kid was about Carl’s height and built. He wanted to get Rick’s attention, say something to direct his friend’s -  _ lover’s?  _ \- thoughts away from the horror in front of them, when the third corpse moved, flailing its hands wildly, making itself sway a bit and turn around with the momentum. It was a woman with a very rounded belly. Daryl saw it move a bit, right before he had to grab Rick and escort him out of there. Their leader was green on the face when he stumbled unevenly to the door, a mix of panic and shock overcoming his features. 

As soon as they were out, Rick threw up all the soup he had eaten earlier. 

 

-&-

 

“Ya holdin’ up?” Daryl’s voice was gruffy and harsh, but for Rick, it was like a soothing balm to his cracked and bleeding heart. The family of walkers they had found hanged earlier had shattered something inside of him, and he was still trying to put the pieces back together a few hours later. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what was wrong. It hadn’t been the first time he had seen a  _ family _ of walkers, and it certainly wasn’t surprising that they had encountered a pregnant walker… But the picture of them that had been sitting at the back of Rick’s mind was filling him with so much dread, he couldn’t even look at Lori, not  _ now. _ Every time his eyes went to her - whether he was trying to reassure himself that she was alive and kicking, or maybe out of some kind of morbid curiosity - he felt sick to his stomach when he went back to that moving dead abdomen. 

“Not… exactly,” Rick mumbled finally, closing his eyes and shaking his head miserably. He was sitting away from the group, on one of the big stones they had encountered in the forest. The rest of his family was gathered around a small pit in the center of which a tiny fire had been glowing merrily. They had all decided to take a break, before moving on and looking for a place to stay for the night. Giving up their initial idea of ‘no fires unless absolutely necessary’ - thought up to avoid attracting unnecessary attention - they were now lighting small fires every time they stopped, provided they had found some wood to use. Rick was happy with that. Sure, attracting unwanted attention was still a huge safety problem for him, but he figured it was better than freezing to death, and even a small fire was big enough to warm them all up a bit. 

The fact that he was sitting as far away from it as possible, was neither here nor there. He couldn’t stay closer - every time he looked at Lori, a series of grotesque pictures flashed through his mind, and he would have been surprised at just how much detail one could take in in a single glance, had he not been so disturbed by their appearance in the first place. 

“Wanna go with me?” Daryl asked, still close, and Rick frowned, looking up at him.    
“Huh?”    
“‘M goin’ huntin’. Not gonna catch a lot in ‘ere, but there’s always a chance we’ll find a cabin or somethin’,” he said, shrugging. Rick didn’t even have to think about it. He nodded, standing up and checking his Colt out of habit. He turned to their family and signaled to Glenn that they were moving further out into the forest. After a mouthed out “good luck”, they went, treading carefully through the bushes and undergrowth covered in snow. 

They kept mostly to the paths where snow was thinner, not willing to risk stepping on a half-hibernated walker. Rick followed Daryl mechanically, falling in step with him on instinct, knowing somewhere deep inside that Daryl would keep them both safe. It was second nature by now - Rick might have been the leader, but it was Daryl who always led the way. It was just the way things were - Rick didn’t know shit about tracking, he would get lost following his own trail, and he was useless when it came to doing anything when the ground was covered in an even layer of snow that blurred out the details of their surroundings. How Daryl managed to do all of that was still a mystery to Rick, but he was more than ready to follow that mystery till another end of the world rolled in. 

Suddenly, Daryl paused, and Rick almost walked into him. He stopped himself just a foot away from him, craning his neck to look over Daryl’s shoulder.    
“What is it?” Rick asked quietly, curious.    
“A trail… right here,” Daryl muttered, pointing at something on the ground. Rick squinted at it, frowning, trying to make out the details, but to be honest, the snow looked much the same to him, a bit thicker here, a bit thinner there…    
“A rabbit?” Rick hazarded a guess, still not seeing any pawprints. Daryl nodded.    
“Yeah. Not very fresh, but they’re not as active now… Should follow it.”    
“Okay, let’s go.” Rick took half-assed glance around, making sure there were no walkers in sight, before he followed Daryl again. 

They walked for well over two miles, at least going by the way Rick’s feet started to get numb. His cowboy boots were soaked and started to get too cold for comfort, the wind had picked up sometime between their little camp and the middle of the woods, and Rick shuddered, tugging his coat tighter around him. If the weather continued on like this, they would need to find some kind of a cabin to spend the night in, or they would be in deep shit… or in  _ deep snow. _ Thinking about what they would do if they didn’t find any shelter for the night, Rick didn’t even notice when his steps had slowed down and a gap had formed between him and Daryl. By the time he became aware of the distance to the hunter, Rick was about twenty yards behind him. He went to pick up the slack, when something caught his attention in the forest. He looked to his right, then froze, terrified when a mean-looking pair of steel-blue eyes bored into him. 

_ A wolf, _ maybe as big as an adult german shepherd, was walking slowly towards him, flashing its teeth menacingly. With every crunch of the snow under those giant paws Rick’s heart kicked into a faster and faster rhythm, until he was almost sure he was going to have a stroke. It wasn’t that the wolf was that dangerous on its own - Rick still had his Colt in the holster, after all - but the sole picture of that wild beast cracked something inside Rick, made his feet heavy and his hands shaky, until Rick was certain he wouldn’t be able to aim correctly. Especially not when he glanced behind the animal, and saw a flash of another pair of steel-blue eyes watching him from the bushes. 

He took a tentative step back, praying silently that there were no walkers behind him. He kept staring ahead, so he missed a figure approaching him from the side. In a flash and a blur of movement, Daryl was jumping in front of him, his crossbow clutched in one hand. He raised it high, taking a step towards the wolf, shouting at it. Rick didn’t know what words Daryl used - he wasn’t sure they were words at all. To be honest, he couldn’t really focus on this - the only thing that his brain was capable of processing was Daryl standing in front of him, facing the wolf, broad shoulders creating a literal barrier between Rick and the snarling animal. 

Rick let his gaze slip down Daryl’s body, from his muscular back wrapped in the leather jacket and vest, to the red rag dangling from the pocket of his trousers. With the snow around them, in this black and white setting, he looked almost like some kind of a mythical creature…  _ maybe a guardian angel, if the white wings on his vest were anything to go by?  _

There was a quiet whine and Rick jerked his head up, spotting the wolf trotting away quickly.    
“And don’ come back, ya bitch!” Daryl called after it, waiting until it disappeared in the far bushes, before he turned to Rick. “Ya okay?”    
“I…” Rick trailed off, at a loss of words. Only now did it hit him just how bad that could have ended.  _ If the wolf had attacked, the whole pack would have followed... _ “Oh god.” He felt dizzy, and his knees turned to jello. He staggered back a step, his feet caught on something, and Rick plopped down into the snow, sitting on the ground with his legs spread wide apart. He felt like a puppet with cut strings, and he didn’t protest when Daryl knelt next to him and wrapped him up in a warm hug. 

The scent of Daryl’s leather jacket was surprisingly comforting, and Rick let himself breathe it in greedily, until his breath condensating on the material made it wet and cold. He drew away reluctantly, glancing around to make sure the wolves hadn’t returned, before he looked up at Daryl, who was watching him like a hawk.    
“We should follow that rabbit,” Rick proposed quietly, but Daryl shook his head.    
_ “Fuck _ the rabbit,” he bristled, standing up and helping Rick. They patted at their clothes, trying to get rid of the snow, only resulting in making them damper. 

They went back using a different path, discovering a small summer house tucked away in a spacious clearing. Deciding to get their family there before the nightfall, they sped up their steps. 

 

-&-

 

That evening, Rick didn’t even try to keep up the appearances - not that he knew what they were supposed to be in the first place. Once everyone was settled and wrapped up in their winter gear - blankets and quilts piled up on them like their own little pillow forts - Rick walked straight to Daryl and sat down right next to him, tucking his legs under the covers immediately. 

They had rearranged the furniture inside the cabin to make it better in terms of defense. With the temperature steadily dropping over the last few days, they were way below the freezing point now, so any watch shifts consisted mostly of staying up and listening to any suspicious sounds - going outside was not really an option. To make their security a bit better, they dragged the couch all the way to the door, leaving only a few feet of space between it and the entrance. Daryl took the spot, declaring himself a light enough sleeper to keep them all protected. 

When Rick seated himself on Daryl’s blanket, he had to admit that the place had one more advantage.  _ They were shielded from prying eyes pretty well. _

Feeling a bit bolder than the last time, not discouraged by the soft glow of candles coming from the center of the room, Rick stretched out on the makeshift bedding, looking up at Daryl with badly concealed longing in his eyes. Thankfully, he didn’t have to say anything, for Daryl joined him a few moments later, lying down after a customary glance towards their group. 

Nobody paid them any attention… even Lori was too preoccupied with reading a book to give a shit about what they were doing. Maybe the lack of interest on her part was still the effect of Rick killing Shane, or maybe it was because she had seen them cuddling together before tonight. Whatever it was, it made it easier for Daryl to draw Rick close with one arm around his shoulder, and the other placed firmly on Rick’s hip. Rick shivered, then fitted his head on Daryl’s chest, giving a relaxed sigh. 

It felt good, Daryl was warm, and the heavy quilt that was dragged over them a few seconds later was everything Rick needed. He snuggled up as close as he could, closing his eyes and focusing on Daryl’s steady breaths, hoping he could somehow syphon Daryl’s  _ zen.  _

“Thanks for today,” Rick whispered softly, just loud enough to be heard by the hunter. Daryl shrugged minutely.    
“Wasn’t nothin’,” he murmured, equally soft. He didn’t want the others to hear their conversation. It wasn’t anything top secret, but he had a feeling that Rick didn’t really like the idea of the others knowing what was going on inside his head, even if it was pretty obvious they could figure it out. They were all living on top of each other as it was.    
“When I saw that wolf… I just.  _ Froze.” _ Rick muttered, wincing. Daryl frowned.    
“It looked dangerous,” he remembered. “Those teeth were pretty scary.”    
_ “Walkers _ are dangerous.” Rick countered, biting his lip. “And scary. Had it not been for you…”   
“Man,  _ stop.” _ Daryl scoffed, shifting a little, until he could look at Rick’s face. It changed their position a bit, and forced them to lie on their sides, heads pillowed on their backpacks. 

“Ya had yer gun, ya woulda used it,” Daryl reminded him, his eyes narrowed. Rick shrugged.    
“I’m not that sure about it,” he admitted quietly, glancing up, taking in the determined expression on Daryl’s face.    
“Ya woulda.” Daryl stated, the hand on Rick’s hip picking up a small rubbing motion. Rick wondered whether he even knew he was doing it. “Ya ain’t a damsel in distress, Rick. They are,” he added quietly, inclining his head slightly and indicating the rest of their group. Rick huffed out incredulously. 

“‘M serious,” Daryl went on. “Yer the alpha male here.”    
“Always saw  _ you _ as one,” Rick muttered, leaning in and tucking his face into Daryl’s neck. 

_ Look at them now, two alpha wolves cuddling up together like scared kids, trying to survive and keep their pack safe... _

“You’re built for this world, Daryl… don’t know what that makes  _ us…” _ He said the last part so quietly, Daryl would have missed it, had it not been mumbled right next to his ear.    
“Whadda ya want it to be?”    
“I… I don’t  _ know.” _ There was something desperate in Rick’s voice, something that tugged at Daryl’s heart and squeezed his insides. “I just… Lori and I…” Daryl winced, hearing her name, then scolded himself mentally. She was still Rick’s wife, he couldn’t expect Rick to just leave her like this. Rick was not that kind of man. 

“I think I’m done, Daryl. I can’t look at her and not see Shane, not see what she’s done… what  _ I’ve _ done. I’ll always love her, but I can’t see her like I used to anymore.” He admitted in a low voice. Daryl’s heart made a jump. Rick had been blaming himself for every shit falling down on them since the day they’d met. “I don’t know how to do  _ this, _ though.”    
“D’ya need to know?” Daryl asked quietly. “We’re doin’ fine if ya ask me.”    
“I just… I’m not good at casual,” Rick explained finally, forming the words hesitantly. Daryl hummed.    
“‘S okay, ‘m not good at it, either,” he gruffed out, wrapping his arms tightly around Rick when he felt him start to shake. “Shh… we can just…  _ go on, _ Rick. ‘M not leavin’ ya,” he assured, squeezing their leader tightly. He got a soft sigh and a quick nod in return, before Rick leaned up and kissed him gently. 

They fell asleep like that, tangled together under the quilt, the sound of their synchronized breathing lulling them. 

Gasping for air, Rick woke up sometime later, looking around in panic, trying to shake off the nightmare he had just had. He couldn’t even remember what it had been about, just that he was running. He was running away from something, or running towards something….   
“‘S just a dream,” Daryl’s sleepy murmur caught his attention, and Rick forced himself to relax, counting to twenty in his head. The hunter shifted next to him, the half darkness encompassing him and painting his face with strange shadows. The colors were bleak, the very early morning glow seeping the vibrancy out of them, and Rick closed his eyes, trying not to think how everything looked like right now. 

Gray. Lifeless.  _ Dead.  _

Daryl’s touch was like an electric current that went through Rick the second the hunter’s hand appeared on his shoulder. He was tugged back on the bedding, pulled down and turned, until Daryl could mold himself to his body, spoon up against him and wrap his arms around Rick’s waist. 

It was too easy to do that, too - Rick was way too skinny. Daryl vowed quietly to go out hunting the first thing in the morning and find them that goddamned rabbit. For now, he settled on keeping Rick warm and comfortable, mostly by squeezing the hell out of him. Rick didn’t seem to mind the too tight hold, thankfully, just sighed contentedly and let himself be cuddled within an inch of his life. 

Too soon - in Rick’s opinion - Daryl started to drift off, his breathing evening out slowly. He wasn’t fully asleep yet, there was some tension in his muscles still, the arms wound around Rick’s middle decidedly  _ not slack. _ He knew the hunter must have been tired, hell,  _ they all were. _ But there had been something comforting in being awake with Daryl in the middle of the night, versus lying with his eyes wide open and trying not to think himself into an early grave. 

_ At least he still had the solid heat of Daryl’s body pressed against his back…  _

That same heat was at the center of his mind about an hour later, when Rick was still lying awake and staring into the half-darkness around them. He had tried to will himself to sleep, but every time his eyes had drifted shut, a gush of wind had slipped through the gap under the door and slithered around their blanket, finding a way to sneak beneath and curl over Rick’s form until he was shivering. When the cold became too great, he wriggled in place, trying to pull the covers tighter around the both of them, inadvertently worming his way closer to Daryl. 

There was a sniffle behind him, a sharp intake of breath, and Daryl’s not-quite-slack arms tightened around him, holding him fiercely on instinct while Daryl woke up fully.    
“R’ck?” He asked confusedly, the word more like a low, raspy growl, than anything resembling Daryl’s usual tone. Rick shivered again, knowing fully well that it wasn’t from the cold this time. He could feel Daryl’s head piping up, the brief twitch of his muscles when he yawned silently, before he lied down again, pressing his face to the back of Rick’s head.    
“Did I wake you?” Rick asked quietly, mindful of their group sleeping just a few feet away. Daryl shrugged behind him, then sighed softly, his breath fanning warmly on Rick’s neck.

“Had a nightmare ‘gain?” He asked, his arms losing some of their tightness, and Rick missed it immediately.    
“No, I… was just cold.” Rick felt stupid for saying that, for some unknown reason.  _ What was he thinking? They were all cold, complaining about it wasn’t going to help. Daryl should just ignore him and go back to sleep… _

Daryl didn’t. What he chose to do instead, was to pull away slightly, then tug Rick after him. He rearranged the blanket, shuffling, until there was a sizable gap on Rick’s side. Rick was ready to protest, his shivering picking up again, when Daryl wrapped his strong arms around him once more and rolled the both of them, until Rick was almost lying on his stomach, Daryl’s bigger form draped over him and making him instantly warm. After they shifted, the gap disappeared and the blanket fell closed, keeping the heat trapped underneath.    
“Better?” Daryl whispered, and Rick wriggled around, trying to distribute his own weight more evenly.    
“Yeah, lemme just…” he moved again, stilling abruptly when one of Daryl’s hands shot to his hip, stopping his shuffling around. 

“Don’t,” Daryl growled out, his chest vibrating against Rick’s back. It was like a purr of a giant jungle cat, and Rick felt a different kind of warmth flooding him. Belatedly, he realized that there was something hard pressing against his ass when they were close like this. His cheeks warmed up.    
_ “Daryl?” _ He breathed out, licking his lips.   
_ “Yeah?”  _ __  
_ “Could we…?”  _   
__ “What?” It was a gasp, so quiet Rick would have missed it, had it not been released right next to his ear. 

He thought about answering it, but he wasn’t sure if he knew what to say. Instead, Rick shifted back against Daryl, rubbing his backside against Daryl’s groin. There was a sharp inhale behind him, Daryl’s fingernails digging into his hip, noticeable even through the thick denim of Rick’s trousers. Rick was sure that Daryl would actually do something, maybe let his hand travel to the front of his trousers and grab his dick -

What he didn’t expect was for Daryl to open his jeans and  _ push them lower, _ past his ass, until they were resting around his thighs. There was a bit of fumbling behind him and soon, Daryl was pressing his hips forward, grinding against Rick, and  _ oh fuck, yes… _ The feeling of Daryl’s cock, hard and hot, rubbing between his cheeks proved to be enough to wipe Rick’s mind clean of anything else. It all fell away in seconds - _ Lori with her growing belly, the wolf they had encountered earlier, the cold and the hunger. _ All that was left, all that  _ mattered  _ suddenly, were Daryl’s hands sliding over Rick’s hips, his dick nestled in the crack of Rick’s ass, and the way they were rocking together slowly. 

It didn’t last long, not when they had to keep quiet not to alert others - the thrill of doing it like this, of keeping their sounds to themselves, added another layer of arousal to the whole encounter. A few minutes later they were coming, hiding their gasps between clothes and blankets, with Daryl’s hand wrapped tightly around Rick’s cock and his own come splashing over Rick’s ass. 

With his mind blissfully blank, with his heartbeat slowly coming back to normal, Rick would have been perfectly happy to just roll over, snuggle up against Daryl and go back to sleep. He groaned quietly with irritation when Daryl moved away, disrupting their warm cocoon.    
“Shhh…” The hunter whispered a moment later, silencing Rick’s protests with his red rag swiping over Rick’s skin, gathering the worst of the mess and cleaning him up a bit. Then, Daryl’s hands tucked him back in carefully, zipping up his trousers and leaving the belt undone. After another minute of shuffling - Daryl cleaning  _ himself  _ up - he settled back over Rick, pressing against him until they were practically molded together. 

“Thank you,” Rick whispered, swallowing heavily, one hand going to Daryl’s and squeezing it softly.    
“Sleep. ‘S still early,” he gruffed back, placing a small kiss behind Rick’s ear. 

 

-&-

 

The next time Rick woke up, it was to the sound of the door closing a few feet away from him. He threw a glance at it sleepily, yawned, then buried himself deeper under the quilt. He could tell that he was alone in their nest of blankets, but he felt so fantastically warm that he wasn’t inclined to get up yet. He figured that someone would wake him up if he was needed, so he closed his eyes again. That was when Daryl’s voice reached him from behind the door. 

“Yer gonna get sick.” The hunter drawled, sounding worried. Rick wondered who he was talking to. “‘S too fucking cold fer ya out here,” Daryl went on. There was a bit of silence, before another voice joined him. 

_ Lori. _

“Don’t pretend you care,” she said, sounding pretty down. Rick frowned, listening on.    
“I do. Ya need to take care of yerself.”    
“I’m a big girl, I know what I’m doing. Besides I just needed some fresh air.” 

There was a longer pause, and Rick imagined Daryl smoking all through it, inhaling sharply and blowing out huge clouds. He almost smiled, thinking about just how many times he had observed Daryl do exactly that. 

“He’s still my husband, you know?” Lori asked suddenly, and Rick winced, finally opening his eyes and staring at the door. _Yeah, he was her husband. Only because there were no lawyers and judges to divorce them anymore._   
“The hell yer gettin’ at?” Daryl asked back, his voice sounding a bit defensive. Rick had the most ridiculous urge to get up and walk to them, join the conversation Lori was apparently adamant on starting. He buried himself deeper in the blankets.   
“I heard you two…” Lori started, but trailed off. She sounded angry and sad all at once, and Rick cursed his mind for telling him to go there and comfort her. He fisted his hand in the heavy quilt, then closed his eyes once more.   
“Not like ya can talk.” 

There was a meaningful pause, and Rick imagined Daryl lighting another cigarette, bringing it to his lips and taking a long drag. Lori said something too quietly for him to hear, and Daryl muttered something back, and Rick turned around and faced the couch, his back to the door. 

“You don’t know him, Daryl. Not like I do.”    
“Nah. Know ‘nuff. Ain’t gonna hurt ‘im either, he’s had too much of that already.” 

The door opened and two sets of feet went in. Rick didn’t even try to turn around to face the door again, but he still caught a glimpse of Lori’s distended belly when she walked around the couch. The resulting shiver that went up his spine was soon chased away by Daryl’s hand sneaking under the covers. The hunter lowered himself behind Rick and shuffled close, tugging the quilt over the both of them.    
“Know ya heard it,” he mumbled, pressing his mouth to the nape of Rick’s neck, kissing the delicate skin gently.    
“Yeah. You didn’t have to…”  _ Didn’t have to talk to her. Didn’t have to be so harsh. Didn’t have to defend my honor like I’m some wilting flower…  _   
“She started it.” Daryl shrugged behind him, one arm winding around Rick’s waist and tugging him back until their bodies were flush. 

Rick knew it was too late to go to sleep again - the sun was already illuminating the sky, after all. He still yawned and stretched, taking comfort in a few luxurious, stolen moments.    
“I meant what I said, Daryl,” he said a few minutes later. “Me and her… We’re done.”    
“Good.” Daryl’s arm squeezed tightly around him. “Meant it, too. Not gonna hurt ya.” Daryl’s voice was so sincere, Rick couldn’t  _ not _ believe him. He found Daryl’s arm under the covers, skimmed his fingers down the length of it until he found Daryl’s palm, then grasped it. Linking their fingers together, Rick brought their joined hands up and kissed Daryl’s carefully. The hunter hummed behind him, a deep, content rumble reverberating through Rick’s chest. 

They both felt mildly disappointed when they had to peel themselves away half an hour later, alerted by Glenn’s panicked voice telling them about an incoming herd of walkers. 


End file.
